Chris Kluwe had a tryout with the Chicago Bears this week — his first tryout since the Oakland Raiders released him at the tail end of training camp.

Kluwe, an author and gay-rights activist, was the Vikings’ punter and holder before they drafted Jeff Locke this year. He was one of several veteran punters the Bears brought to town. Kluwe flew back to his California home after the Tuesday tryout and said he had no idea if the Bears would even replace their current punter, Adam Podlesh.

But if they do, he would be excited to punt for them.

“It definitely would be fun to be back in the NFC,” Kluwe said.

Meanwhile, Kluwe is spending time with his wife and two young daughters, Olivia and Remy, working on a book trilogy, tweeting his impressions of Vikings games and enjoying his passion for gaming.

I caught up with Kluwe on Wednesday.

BS: How did your tryout go with the Chicago Bears?

CK: It went all right. I punted pretty decently. The problem was, it was a pretty windy day. It was 30 mile-an-hour winds gusting up to 40. It was basically 70 yards one way and 25 the other. Needless to say, we didn’t get to show off what we can do.

BS: Did anyone from the Bears say they wanted you to be their new punter?

CK: They just thanked us for coming and sent us back home. I don’t think they’ll replace Podlesh right away. Last year, they brought in a few guys during the season for a tryout. I think this was a combination of seeing who’s out there and a motivation-type thing.

BS: Did you bring along your action figure of you tackling (Bears returner) Devin Hester to Chicago for Hester to sign?

CK: (Laughs.) No, I didn’t bring the action figure diorama.

BS: If you never punt in the NFL again, are you OK with that?

CK: I guess I’d be OK with it. I got to play for eight years, which is more years than most people in the world ever get to play. At the same time, I’d feel a little disappointed with the way things happened with leaving Minnesota. I’d like to play longer because I think I can still play at the professional level.

BS: What do you mean when you say “the way” you left Minnesota?

CK: I thought it was pretty abrupt. I’d been there eight years and had gotten to know a lot of people in the community really well. I just felt, “OK, they’re going in a different direction.”

BS: What have you been doing with your time?

CK: Seeing my family. That’s been good. I’m pretty much just hanging out with my daughters. And I’m writing and finding ways to keep myself occupied.

BS: Are you working on a sequel to your book, “Beautifully Unique Sparkleponies”?

CK: I don’t know yet if I’ll do a sequel to “Sparkleponies.” I’m working on a science-fiction trilogy.

BS: You say you’re working on a trilogy. Have you written one of the books yet?

CK: I’ve already written the first book, and I’m working on the second one. I’ve got about 16,000 words. We’ve got the outline of the second one knocked out, and we’re a little over halfway through.

BS: Is the first book in publication, or will it soon be in publication?

CK: We’re looking for publishers right now. We want to find the right publisher. Hopefully, it’ll be a good science fiction publisher who really likes it.

BS: After the success of “Sparkleponies,” finding a publisher shouldn’t be too difficult.

CK: I don’t think it will be that hard. It’s like with an NFL team. All you have to do is find one person that loves you.

BS: You’re not looking for a non-football job if you’re writing, right? Can you see being an author as a new career?

CK: That’s something I can see myself doing. I’m also looking to write maybe as a guest figure for possibly different sports (web)sites. A lot of people have told me they enjoy my writing on football-type stuff. That’s something I’m also pursuing. If people like reading it, I might as well keep doing it.

BS: Are you gaming now more than ever?

CK: I’ve got a lot of free time to game, also. I’m introducing my children to the joys of video games. Our older daughter is 5, and our younger daughter will be 3 in eight days.

BS: Is your Minnesota-based band Tripping Icarus still intact, or have they looked to replace you?

CK: We’re intact. We’re working on finishing up our fourth CD. We’re in the final stages of editing that. We all enjoy playing music together. We’re going to try to stay together. We think we have a pretty good sound, and we want to keep it going, if possible.

BS: You’ve been tweeting insights during the Vikings’ games. Ever think of pursuing a career in broadcasting?

CK: A bunch of people have mentioned that to me, as well. It might be something I look at. Apparently, people enjoy listening to what I have to say. We’ll see if I can make something from that.

BS: You gave good insight into Blair Walsh’s missed field goal against the Pittsburgh Steelers and how Jeff Locke put the ball down too close to his body.

CK: That’s something really only specialists, like holders and kickers, know. For the average person, they think for a field goal you put the football down and kick it. It’s like any other operation in football; there are a whole lot of variables that affect the ultimate outcome.

BS: Did you see that author Tom Clancy died (Tuesday night)?

CK: No, I didn’t. That’s a shame.

BS: Were you a Clancy fan?

CK: I read a couple of his books. I wasn’t a huge fan. It’s always depressing when a writer dies because they’re not going to write any more stories — ever.

BS: Who is your favorite author?

CK: Right now, one of my favorite authors is Brandon Sanderson. He’s a really, really good science-fiction fantasy author. Another one of my favorites is Iain Banks. He passed a couple of months ago, which was really unfortunate.

BS: Do you think your activism for gay rights is keeping you from getting more tryouts?

CK: That I don’t know, just because I don’t know what’s said in meetings between coaches and general managers. So far, I guess it hasn’t because I got invited to the same tryout other punters got invited to. As far as I know, it’s not affecting it.

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